Soccer Manager Rips Own Player For Being 40 Pounds Overweight (Video)

Harry Redknapp is tired of quietly waiting for Adel Taarabt to lose weight, so he decided to air his grievances in public.

Redknapp, manager of Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, blasted Taarabt during an extraordinary press conference rant following his team’s 3-2 loss to Liverpool on Sunday.

When asked why Taarabt wasn’t in QPR’s squad for the Liverpool game, Redknapp accused Taarabt of being 40 pounds (or “three stone”) overweight.

Taarabt, 25, is one of QPR’s most talented and highest-paid players, but his determination is subject to debate. The Moroccan midfielder has appeared in just two Premier League games this season and hasn’t started a game since Aug. 27.

Redknapp complained about Taarabt’s general fitness earlier this season, but we sense the QPR boss is engaging in some hyperbole here. Taarabt played 23 uninspired minutes in QPR’s 2-0 loss to West Ham on Oct. 5. If Taarabt really was that overweight, it’s safe to say he wouldn’t have appeared in a game in English soccer’s top-flight just three weeks ago. That is, unless Taarabt has ballooned between then and now.

Time will tell if Redknapp’s public shaming of Taarabt has the desired effect … whatever that might be.